Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated comedy television series, created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, especially Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Goldstein, and Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare. Robot Chicken has won an Annie Award and eight Emmy Awards. Background Robot Chicken is based on "Twisted ToyFare Theater", a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare: The Toy Magazine. It is a sketch comedy that parodies a number of pop culture conventions using stop motion animation of toys, action figures, claymation, and various other objects, such as tongue depressors, The Game of Life pegs, and popsicle sticks during a joke about a loss of budget. The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a West Hollywood Chinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined, although the series originally was intended to be called "Junk in the Trunk". The series first appeared as Sweet J Presents, produced for the Sony website Screenblast.com in 2001. The show was created, written, and produced by Green and Senreich. The show ended after 12 episodes and returned to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in 2005 as Robot Chicken. In the first episode ("Conan's Big Fun"), Conan O'Brien was featured, but he was instead voiced by Seth MacFarlane (2005-2014). The show premiered on Sunday, February 20, 2005, as a part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. It is produced by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (ShadowMachine Films Seasons 1-5) in association with Stoop!d Monkey, Williams Street, Sony Pictures Digital, and Sony Pictures Television. It currently airs in the U.S. on Adult Swim, in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of FX's Adult Swim block, in Canada on Teletoon's TELETOON at Night block, in Australia on The Comedy Channel's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2's Adult Swim block, in Germany on TNT Series' Adult Swim block, and in Latin America on the I.Sat Adult Swim block (after being cancelled from Latin Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2008 for unknown reasons). The show is rated TV-MA, and many of the sketches from Sweet J were redone for Robot Chicken. The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 1, 2007, to September 28, 2008. After an eight month hiatus during the third season, the show returned on August 31, 2008, to air the remaining 5 episodes. The series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008, and ended September 20, 2009. In early 2010, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total). Season 5 premiered on December 12, 2010. The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012. In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up a sixth season of Robot Chicken, which began airing in September 2012. The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. Opening sequence On a stormy night, a mad scientist finds a road-killed chicken, which he takes back to his laboratory to re-fashion into a cyborg. Midway through the opening sequence, the titular chicken turns his laser eye towards the camera, and the title appears amidst the "laser effects" as Les Claypool of Primus can be heard screaming "It's alive!" a-la Frankenstein. Claypool also composed and performed the show's theme song. The mad scientist then straps the re-animated Robot Chicken into a chair, uses calipers to hold his eyes open, and forces him to watch a bank of television monitors (an allusion to A Clockwork Orange); this scene segues into the body of the show, which resembles someone frequently changing TV channels. In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims that this sequence tells the viewer that they (the audience) are the robot chicken(s), being forced to watch the skits. As a result, the show does not actually focus on the robot chicken until the 100th episode when he finally makes his escape and later kills the mad scientist when he kidnaps a hen who is the chicken's girlfriend. Beginning in the sixth season, the role of chicken and mad scientist are reversed in this opening sequence: The chicken turns the mad scientist into a cyborg and then subjects him to watch the television sets. However, the eye color is changed in the sixth season intro, with it being changed from red to blue. Overview The show focuses on mocking pop culture, referencing toys, movies, television, and popular fads, as well as more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs, much in the same vein as comedy sketch shows like Saturday Night Live. One particular motif involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities because of aging, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA for the humans, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom). The program even had a 30-minute episode dedicated to Star Wars which premiered June 17, 2007, in the US featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas, Mark Hamill (from a previous episode), Billy Dee Williams, and Ahmed Best. [[Robot Chicken: Star Wars|The Star Wars episode]] was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). Four of the six season finales of Robot Chicken to date have ended with Mike Lazzo, the head of Adult Swim, saying that "Robot Chicken is canceled", although thus far it has still returned for an additional season following each joke proclamation. Episodes :Main article: Episode list Voice cast * Jordan Allen-Dutton * Candace Bailey * Abraham Benrubi * Alex Borstein * Leah Cevoli * Rachael Leigh Cook * Hugh Davidson * Mikey Day * Eden Espinosa * Donald Faison * Tamara Garfield * Sarah Michelle Gellar * Douglas Goldstein * Ginnifer Goodwin * Clare Grant * Seth Green * Jamie Kaler * Mila Kunis * Jordan Ladd * Seth MacFarlane * Breckin Meyer * Dan Milano * Chad Morgan * Tom Root * Matthew Senreich * Kevin Shinick * Amy Smart * Adam Talbott * Erik Weiner * Zeb Wells * Victor Yerrid * 50 Cent * Scott Adsit * Malin Åkerman * Lauren Ambrose * Gillian Anderson * Steve Aoki * Magda Apanowicz * Fred Armisen * Sean Astin * Sebastian Bach * Kevin Bacon * Robin Bain * Diora Baird * Elizabeth Banks * Jonathan Banks * Samantha Barks * Sasha Barrese * Lance Bass * Sean Bean * Kristen Bell * Lake Bell * Jon Bernthal * Ahmed Best * Michael Ian Black * Megan Boone * Wayne Brady * Amy Brenneman * Alison Brie * Clancy Brown * Eugene Byrd * Dean Cain * Bruce Campbell * Tisha Campbell-Martin * Bobby Cannavale * Linda Cardellini * Jennifer Carpenter * Robert Carradine * Emma Caulfield * Tom Cavanagh * Lacey Chabert * Sarah Chalke * Kyle Chandler * Max Charles * Kristin Chenoweth * Michael Chiklis * Emmanuelle Chriqui * Erika Christensen * Diablo Cody * Gary Coleman * Kevin Connolly * Josh Cooke * Rob Corddry * Abbie Cornish * Erin Cottrell * Dave Coulier * Bryan Cranston * Chace Crawford * Affion Crockett * Macaulay Culkin * Robert Culp * Alan Cumming * Brett Dalton * Anthony Daniels * Keith David * Vicki Davis * Rosario Dawson * Dom DeLuise * Alexis Denisof * Kat Dennings * Dustin Diamond * Phyllis Diller * Nina Dobrev * Snoop Dogg * Dr. Drew * Clark Duke * Ashley Eckstein * Zac Efron * Sam Elliott * Chris Evans * Darren Ewing * Joey Fatone * David Faustino * Jon Favreau * Nat Faxon * Corey Feldman * Miguel Ferrer * Nathan Fillion * Reggie Fils-Aimé * Carrie Fisher * Calista Flockhart * Dan Fogler * Dave Foley * Ben Foster * Megan Fox * Alfonso Freeman * Eric Freeman * Soleil Moon Frye * Peter Gallagher * Donald Glover * Whoopi Goldberg * Zachary Gordon * Mark-Paul Gosselaar * Lucas Grabeel * Topher Grace * Spencer Grammer * Brian Austin Green * Cee-Lo Green * Max Greenfield * Judy Greer * Melanie Griffith * Josh Groban * Greg Grunberg * Kathryn Hahn * Corey Haim * Larry Hama * Mark Hamill * Jon Hamm * Colin Hanks * Jim Hanks * Alyson Hannigan * Danielle Harris * Neil Patrick Harris * Melissa Joan Hart * Dennis Haskins * David Hasselhoff * Ethan Hawke * Erinn Hayes * Emily Head * Jon Heder * Hugh Hefner * Tom Hiddleston * Megan Hilty * Hulk Hogan * Michael Hogan * Ashley Holliday * Nicholas Hoult * Kelly Hu * Vanessa Hudgens * Sarah Hyland * The Iron Sheik * Gregory Itzin * Gillian Jacobs * Allison Janney * Ken Jeong * Scarlett Johansson * Rashida Jones * Sung Kang * Robert Kazinsky * Monica Keena * Ellie Kemper * Page Kennedy * Kesha * Keegan-Michael Key * Val Kilmer * Jimmy Kimmel * Robert Kirkman * Don Knotts * Kristin Kreuk * Ashton Kutcher * Mike Lazzo * Stan Lee * Thomas Lennon * Adrian Lester * Zachary Levi * Matthew Lillard * Delroy Lindo * Christopher Lloyd * Joe Lo Truglio * Mario Lopez * George Lucas * Ludacris * Ralph Macchio * Holly Madison * Lee Majors * Jena Malone * William Mapother * Kate Mara * Bridget Marquardt * James Marsden * George R. R. Martin * Master P * Danny Masterson * Eric McCormack * Malcolm McDowell * John C. McGinley * Joel McHale * Julian McMahon * Rove McManus * Shane McRae * Stephen Merchant * Ming-Na * Katy Mixon * Alfred Molina * Maribeth Monroe * Ronald D. Moore * Toby Leonard Moore * Pat Morita * David Morse * John Moschitta, Jr. * Olivia Munn * Conan O'Brien * Pat O'Brien * Chris O'Donnell * Raymond Ochoa * Sandra Oh * Masi Oka * Britne Oldford * Larisa Oleynik * John Oliver * Timothy Omundson * David Oyelowo * Adrianne Palicki * Hayden Panettiere * Jessica Paré * Randall Park * Chris Parnell * Shawn Patterson * Aaron Paul * Jordan Peele * Simon Pegg * Tahmoh Penikett * Rhea Perlman * Ron Perlman * Katelin Peterson * Chris Pine * Roddy Piper * Scott Porter * Freddie Prinze, Jr. * Danny Pudi * Lucy Punch * Zachary Quinto * Daniel Radcliffe * Efren Ramirez * Sarah Ramos * Marion Ramsey * Jeremy Renner * Paul Reubens * Burt Reynolds * Alfonso Ribeiro * Giovanni Ribisi * Andy Richter * Jason Ritter * Krysten Ritter * AnnaSophia Robb * Saoirse Ronan * Tim Roth * Paul Rudd * Debra Jo Rupp * Jeri Ryan * RZA * Katee Sackhoff * Meredith Salenger * Will Sasso * Paul Scheer * Liev Schreiber * Rick Schroder * Nev Schulman * Ben Schwartz * Adam Scott * Ryan Seacrest * David Shaughnessy * Alia Shawkat * Dax Shepard * Dave Sheridan * Sarah Silverman * Gene Simmons * J. K. Simmons * Nick Simmons * Sir Mix-a-Lot * Christian Slater * Jean Smart * Robert Smigel * Kurtwood Smith * J. B. Smoove * Brenda Song * Hal Sparks * Brent Spiner * Mary Steenburgen * Mindy Sterling * Jon Stewart * Patrick Stewart * Emma Stone * Patrick Stump * Jason Sudeikis * Marc Summers * T-Pain * Catherine Taber * George Takei * Bex Taylor-Klaus * Tila Tequila * Charlize Theron * Josh Robert Thompson * Lea Thompson * Billy Bob Thornton * Ashley Tisdale * Stuart Townsend * Michelle Trachtenberg * Triple H * Stanley Tucci * Alan Tudyk * Robin Tunney * Steven Tyler * Skeet Ulrich * Wilmer Valderrama * Jean-Claude Van Damme * James Van Der Beek * Milo Ventimiglia * Lark Voorhies * Dreama Walker * Patrick Warburton * Burt Ward * Michaela Watkins * Pete Wentz * Adam West * Wil Wheaton * Joss Whedon * Mae Whitman * Olivia Wilde * Kendra Wilkinson * Billy Dee Williams * Harland Williams * Maisie Williams * Henry Winkler * Michael Winslow * Alex Winter * Elijah Wood * Evan Rachel Wood * Matthew Wood * Jeffrey Wright * "Weird Al" Yankovic * William Zabka * Billy Zane * Tay Zonday * Dee Bradley Baker * Michael Benyaer * Bob Bergen * Rachel Bloom * Julianne Buescher * Jodi Carlisle * Greg Cipes * Keith Crofford * Jim Cummings * Grey DeLisle * Benjamin Diskin * Jeannie Elias * Bill Farmer * Mike Fasolo * Keith Ferguson * Quinton Flynn * Danny Goldman * Mike Henry * Roger L. Jackson * Tom Kane * Neil Kaplan * Maurice LaMarche * Phil LaMarr * George Lowe * Rachael MacFarlane * Drew Massey * Christopher McCulloch * Jim Meskimen * Minae Noji * Rob Paulsen * Patrick Pinney * Bill Ratner * Adam Reed * Susan Silo * Danny Smith * Dana Snyder * Stephen Stanton * Tara Strong * Cree Summer * Fred Tatasciore * Frank Welker Category:Wiki Info Category:Characters